FAQ

Residential Sales – Buyer

If the agent tells you there are other offers, you should presume it to be so.The agent cannot tell you of the amount of another offer because that information is confidential and the law prohibits the agent disclosing confidential information to you.

No. In many instances a reserve price is not known until the day of the auction. It may then change, depending on the strength of the bidding.If a vendor will not divulge their reserve until shortly before or at their auction, and an agent wishes to give intending bidders an indication of the possible range within which the property may sell, the agent’s estimate of the selling price may be used in pre-auction advertising.The vendor is entitled to set a reserve of their choice and does not have to adopt the agent’s estimate. If, however, the vendor’s reserve is known prior to the auction, the advertised reserve, or price indicator published by the agent, must not be less than the vendor’s figure.

If that was said to you, the agent must change the advertising to reflect a price the vendor will accept. It will be deliberately misleading for the agent to leave the price unchanged, having said that to you.

Until your offer has been accepted by the vendor signing a contract, the acceptance has been communicated to you and the signed contract has been exchanged with you there is no legally binding contract of sale.In your case, it appears that, unfortunately, before the vendor signed your contract, they received a better offer, accepted it and exchanged contracts with the buyer. The agent meant well by telling you your offer had been “accepted”. However, they really should not have said so until they could hand you a part of the contract signed by the vendor, at the same time.

Not during the exclusive authority period unless your agent agrees, if you have signed an exclusive auction or private sale authority. If the exclusive authority also has a non-exclusive period you can cancel that at any time, by giving your agent written notice.

If you engage the services of another agent on an exclusive basis while you have a current exclusive authority, you may have to pay each a commission on the sale of your property.

If you gave your agent a general sale authority, you can cancel it at any time by giving your agent written notice.

Residential Rental - Owner

Until the rent is at least 14 days overdue the only option available to your agent is to remind your tenant that the rent must be paid on time. Once the rent is more than 14 days overdue, your agent can issue a notice to vacate.

You can negotiate with your tenant to cancel your fixed term lease on terms acceptable to the both of you, if you want to sell or if you need to move into your rental property.

If you are unable to negotiate a cancellation, your lease will run its full term.

If you intend to sell your rental property and want to be able to give a buyer vacant possession, you can – in anticipation of the fixed term coming to an end – give your tenant a notice to vacate specifying a minimum termination date of 60 days after the date your tenant is given the notice. The termination date will, ideally, coincide with the end of your fixed term lease.

If your situation is such that you need to move into your rental property as soon as possible, you can – in anticipation of the fixed term coming to an end – give your tenant a notice to vacate specifying a minimum termination date of 60 days after the date your tenant is given the notice. The termination date will, ideally, coincide with the end of your fixed term lease.

You can negotiate with your tenant to cancel your periodic tenancy on terms acceptable to the both of you, if you want to sell or if you need to move into your rental property.

If you are unable to negotiate a cancellation, you will need to bring your periodic tenancy to an end by giving notice.

If you intend to sell your rental property and want to be able to give a buyer vacant possession, you can give your tenant a notice to vacate specifying a minimum termination date of 60 days after the date your tenant is given the notice.

If your situation is such that you need to move into your rental property as soon as possible, you can give your tenant a notice to vacate specifying a minimum termination date of 60 days after the date your tenant is given the notice.

Residential Rental - Tenant

It is important you do more than just ask. If the repairs are not urgent, you should also give your landlord, or your landlord’s agent, written notice specifying the damage. Your notice can, for example, simply be a letter addressed to your landlord or your landlord’s agent.

If you do this and repairs are not carried out within 14 days after the day you gave your notice, you can apply in writing to the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria to investigate whether your landlord is failing to maintain the premises in good repair.

The Director has to investigate and negotiate the carrying out of the repairs and give you a written report.

If you consider the arrangements made are unsatisfactory, you can then apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order requiring your landlord to do the repairs. This is commonly known as the breach of duty notice procedure.

If repairs are urgent* – for example, there is storm damage or the hot water service has failed – you can organise the repairs, if you have first taken reasonable steps to arrange for your landlord, or your landlord’s agent, to do the work and you cannot get one or the other of them to do so.

If you attend to urgent repairs, you need to give your landlord, or your landlords’ agent, 14 days written notice of them and the cost. Your landlord then has to reimburse you for the reasonable cost of the repairs or $1,800 inclusive of GST, whichever is less.

[*urgent repairs commonly include: a broken water service; blocked or broken lavatory system; serious roof leak; gas leak; dangerous electrical fault; flooding or serious flood damage; serious storm or fire damage; a failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided for hot water, water, cooking, heating or laundering by a landlord in rented premises; a failure or breakdown of gas, electricity, or water supply to rented premises; an appliance, fitting or fixture provided by a landlord that uses or supplies water and that is malfunctioning in a way that results in a substantial amount of water being wasted; any fault or damage that makes rented premises unsafe or insecure; a serious fault in a lift or staircase.]

You can only get your name off the lease if the other tenants and the landlord agree. If everyone is agreeable, the remaining time to run on your lease can be transferred to the other tenants. You should obtain written confirmation from the agent that the transfer has been completed.

Your landlord may be entitled to ask you to reimburse the expense incurred. If you have contributed to a bond, you will need to negotiate with the other tenants about a refund of your contribution.

You have agreed to rent the property for a fixed term and are bound by your lease. If you leave before the end of your fixed term, your landlord’s agent will endeavour to re-let the property. You must continue to pay the rent, in the meantime.

You will have to reimburse your landlord for the expense incurred in reletting the property earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Expenses may include: a letting fee, advertising and marketing, and rental database checks on applicants who want to lease the property.

Commercial

The Retail Leases Act obliges you as the landlord to hold your tenant’s security deposit on your tenant’s behalf in an interest bearing account. You have to hand the security deposit and accrued interest to your tenant, as soon as practicable after your lease ends.

You need to check whether the previous owner or managing agent still has the security deposit, if that is possible. If the security deposit and interest cannot be found, you may have to provide it from your own pocket, in which case you should obtain legal advice.

You will need to speak with your legal adviser and take with you your lease and a statement from your estate agent detailing the rent arrears. Your legal adviser will suggest an appropriate course of action. That may include exercising a right of re-entry to bring your lease to an end as permitted by the Property Law Act and Retail Leases Act.

No. The agent can only invoice the owner of the property, their client. In turn the owner may be entitled to recover all or some of what they have paid to the agent, from you.

Whether you have to pay depends on the terms of the authority the property owner has signed with the agent, your lease and, if your premises are controlled by the Retail Leases Act 2003.

The owner has to send you their own tax invoice, not simply pass on the tax invoice they've received from their agent. If you are entitled to an input tax credit, you can’t claim it on an invoice issued by the agent to the property owner.

Yes, if your lease permits it. Using rates as an example: when the council invoices your landlord for rates, no GST is payable. When, under your lease your landlord on-charges the rates to you, the GST law says your landlord is resupplying the rates to you. GST is payable on the resupply. That is why the agent adds GST to the invoice.